Lubricating apparatus



W. FAHEY.

LUBRICATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.9. 1919- Pajtented July 26, 1921.-

v'rss PATENT ,orme

WILLIAM FAHEY, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

v .LUPRICA'PING APPARATUS.

y To all Lo/0m t may concern:

Be itknown that I, WILLrAM FAHEY, aY citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of Cleveland, countyof Cuyahoga, and State orn Chio, have invented a new anduseful Im'- provement in Lubricating Apparatus, of

which the following is a specication, theV principle of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it fromother inventions.

' The present improvements, relating, as indicated, to lubricatingapparatus are more particularly vdirected to. an 'improved apparatus to be used particularly in connection with the supplying oflubricant to the crank casevof an automobile engine. `In,

automobile engines' the crank case ofthe engine 'itself is often used as the only reservoir for oiling, and the 'oil for the various cylinders is then removed'from the crank case by cups formed on the crank arms, and is, byl their movement thrown against the walls of the cylinders .for lubricating them.

The .chief disadvantagejof this construction is' that vthe crank case is always either too full or not Jfull enough. ',When oil is rst supplied to the crank case the level is always above that `which shouldv` be` maintained, allowing the crank arms to dipl into thevoilv and churn it up, as well as causingthem to 'splash'too great an amount of oil against the cylinderV Walls. This ofcoursevcauses a dl-V Y rect loss byreason of the oil, which is vaporized by 4explosion and carried into the exhaust, and also a second loss because of the improper operation of the engine when supplied with too lmuch lubricant.: On the other'hanchafter a'shorttim'e the oil level in the crank case.; falls below that which should be maintained andV then the crank Aarms fail to .dip into the oil with'regularity Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July' 26|; 1921.

Application feed August 9, 1919. y serial No. 316,428.

fully described and particularly pointed out inthe claims. Y

'The annexed drawing and the followingV description set forth in detail certain mech-V anism'embodying the invention, such disclosed'means constituting, however, but one of various mechanicalforms in which the f principle ofthe invention maybe used. In` said annexed drawing Y,Figurer 1 Vis Y a partial central section Vthrough my 'improved device, illustrating the same in connectionwithi the crank case of an engine; Fig. 2 is a similar viewvshowing the Vdevice in a different operative condition; and Fig. 3 isa section on the'line 3 3, in Fig. 2. y

vIn Fig. 1 there is shown, more or less diagrammatically a `crank case 1 of an engine in which the oil level shouldbe maintained at the point 2( Extending into the'crank caseand terminating at the level 2 is a lubri cant'sup'plying conduit 3. i Y

4My fimproved oil supplying apparatus may conveniently be'V mounted either 'upon the engine cylinders or upon thedashboard 'l .l of the vehicle, or at any other point, so long as it is above the crank case of the engine.

Theflubricant reservoir .comprises .a cylin-p.

rical vessel 1 having onev initiallyV` open end which is hermetically sealed bymeans of a cover-.5, provided with'a threaded iange 6 engaged over complementary threads formed on the outer surface of the cylinder adjacent to the open end. The vessel 4 can either be made ofmetal or of some other material,

like glass, which is to bepreferred as it indicate'sl at a glance the amount of oil, and .`A when iirmly` clamped. ina suitable place on the vehicle is in no danger of beingbroken. The cap, or metal cover 5`is provided with a conduit 7 extending'thereacross and open along the side 8 to the interiorv ofthe reservoir.'V This conduit is provided with v'alined opposite openings `9 and ,10 at their end, the ,y

vopening 10 being threadedto receive therein av collar which is adapted to be closed by meansv oa cap or stopper 11, attached toy the conduit by the familiar Vwire fastening means 12, which are in such common use on bottles for liquids that they need not be described in greater detail.

Slidably mounted ina support 13 formedv i in the conduit is a rod 15, provided at one end with a valve 16, adapted to seat against a beveled seat 17in the conduit and close the of oil.

lower end 10 of y this conduit, Disposed about the rod 15, between the wall 13 and the transverse pin 18, is a coil spring 19, which is adapted tonormally maintain the valve in a single position, and in this way close the lower end of the conduit?. The. upper end 20 of the rod 15 is positioned so that upon the seating of the stopper 11 the inwardly projecting end 21 of the same will engage the end 2O of the rod and depress'the same enough to bring the valve 16 into open position', which is shown in Fig; l. n

It will be understood that the cover 5 is screwed onto the cylinder and hermetically scaled against thecylinder 4L by shellac or soine other suitable substance, and that the reservoir is rst ,illed with lubricantand the cover 11 closed, thus opening theV valve 16 and allowing the lubricant to flow downV through the tube 3 until the crank case is illed to slightly above the leve-l of the open end '22 of the pipe 3. this level it seals the pipe S'against the llow of air from the crank case to the top of the reservoir and thus prevents the further flow lVhenever the oil level in the crank case falls below the open end 22 of the pipe 3 air is again admitted to the reservoir, the vacuum therein is "broken and oil will again flow into the crank case until the former level is restored; When the oil in,A

the reservoir isentirely usedA the stopper 11 is opened, Whenthe spring 19 will immediately seat the valve 16 and prevent oil from flowing into ythe crank case during the. filling ofV the reservoir.`

The advantages ofthe present apparatus y are vits eXtreme simplicity and low cost, and

it hasbeen Vfound that when applied to auto-y mobiles liavingrthe usual crank case lubri Hcant without anyk means for maintaining Va certain level it results in a very consideri able economy inA the amount lof lubricant used, and also succeeds in preventing the fouling of the cylinders and spark plugs with carbon from vaporized oil,

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided Vthe means stated by any of the follow-V ing claims or the equivalent means be employed. ,y y f Itherefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention :e-

l.V In apparatus. of the character described,

of such stated Jthe combination of a chamber to be supplied Y with lubricant, a lubricant reservoir open When the oil iS'at` at one end, a metal cover for said open end, said cover being provided with a conduit therein open laterally to said reservoir and having alined openings at either end thereof, valve members closing such alined openings, and connection between said valve members adapted to allow but one thereof to be. open ata time.

2. A lubricant reservoir comprising a cylindrical vessel having one open end andra metal cover sealed to said vessel to close such Vopen end, such cover being provided with a Vconduit therein open laterally to said vessel and having alined openings at either end'thereof, a valve in saidconduit adjacent the bottom thereof and normally positioned to close said conduit, a removable valve at the top adapted t0 close the other end of said conduit, and, connections between said two valves whereby closing of said removable valve opens Vsaid first named valve.y

3. A lubricant reservoir comprising a cylindrical vessel having one open end and a metal cover sea'led'to said vessel to close such open end, such cover being provided with a conduit therein open laterally to such vesseland having alined openings at either end thereof, Vvalve members closing such alined openings, and Vconnections between said'menibers adapted to allow but one thereof to be open at a time,

4. A .cover fora container comprising a metal plate provided with conduit eX- tending 'across the same and open on one side and' at either end, closure. members at either end of said conduit, and connections.

lindrical vessel/having one open end and a metal cover sealed to jsaid vesseltolclose such open end, such cover being provided with aconduit therein open laterally to said vessel and having alined openings at either end thereof, a valve in said conduit. adjacent the bottom thereof,a rod connected to said valve and extending to a pointadjacent the other end of saidconduit, resilient means connected to said-rod to normally maintain said valve in its closed position, and a removable valve at the other rend vof said conduit'andl adapted ints closing position to engage said Vrod to open'said first named` valve whereby only'one valve may be open at one time. 1

Signed by me, this 23l day of July, 1919.

. W'iLLiM y FAHEY. 

